Cameron Smith soars into the lead after round 2 – The Open

Round 2

Cameron Smith produced a record-breaking round to jump into a two-shot halfway lead at The 150th Open, with Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland in the chasing pack.

Smith carded an eagle and six birdies on his way to a superb eight-under 64 on the Old Course, seeing him move to 13 under 131 and break the record for the lowest 36-hole total posted in a major.

The world No 6 holed from nearly 50 feet at the first to begin a run of three consecutive birdies and added back-to-back gains from the sixth to reach the turn in 31, with the Australian starting his back nine with a birdie and rolling in a long-range eagle at the par-five 14th.

The 28-year-old required one birdie in his last four holes to equal the lowest major round at St Andrews and needed to play the closing stretch in two under to match Branden Grace’s record 62, only to par his way home and head into the weekend two clear of first-round leader Cameron Young.

Young followed up his opening-round 64 by mixing five birdies with two bogeys in a three-under 69, while McIlroy maintained his push for a first major title since 2014 and third victory of the season by posting a second-round 68.

McIlroy made birdies at the fifth and seventh before cancelling out a long-range three-putt bogey at the eighth by starting his back nine with three consecutive birdies, only to three-putt the par-five 14th for par and three-putt the next to slip back to nine under.

The four-time major winner birdied his penultimate hole to sit in tied-third alongside Hovland, who made a hole-out eagle at the par-four 15th and birdied the last to sign for a six-under 66.

The next Irish name on the leaderboard is a surprise one, qualifier David Carey who is five-under, while Shane Lowry is a shot behind after responding to a double bogey at 16 with birdies at the two final holes.

There was disappointment for Seamus Power at his first Open though as he carded a 75 to finish on four-over par, four shots outside the cut-line.

Dublin’s Carey produced a stunning second-round 67, good enough for a spot inside the top 20.

Carey, a qualifier winner at Fairmont St Andrews, carded his first birdie at the second hole and collected another five along the way with a bogey at the sixth providing the only blemish on his card.

That left the Castleknock native, who once shot a 57 on the third level Alps Tour, on five-under-par heading into the weekend’s action, six shots behind Cameron Smith who was sitting on 11-under as the Irishman finished his round.

Padraig Harrington had managed to get to five-under early in his round too, but disaster struck as he dropped four shots between the fourth and sixth holes, three-putting for a double bogey on the last of those.

In the end Harrington would finish with a disappointing 78 to end his tournament on three-over-par, well outside the cut line.

Ronan Mullarney will also miss the weekend after a second-round 78 left him on seven-over-par.

He only managed one birdie on the front nine after driving the green at the par-four ninth, with his back nine producing six pars and three bogeys.

Darren Clarke was always in trouble after his first-round 79, but he did improve in round two with a 75 – back-to-back birdies at five and six the highlight as he finished on 10-over.

Dustin Johnson made a bogey-free 67 to get within four of the lead and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler is five off the pace alongside Tyrrell Hatton, while US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick charged back into contention with a six-under 66.

Three-time major champion Jordan Spieth and former world No 1 Jon Rahm are in the group on four under that includes 2019 winner Shane Lowry, as defending champion Collin Morikawa joined Tiger Woods in missing the cut.

Rounds of 78 and 75 left Woods failing to make the weekend in The Open for just the fourth time in his career, with the 46-year-old recording just one birdie in a round where he once again struggled on the greens.

Woods cancelled out a birdie at the second with a bogey at the next and made a three-putt par at the fifth after leaving his initial eagle try five feet from the pin, with the three-time Champion Golfer of the Year bogeying the seventh and then ending a run of pars with a double-bogey at the 16th.

Huge galleries lined the 18th fairway to pay tribute to Woods, who looked emotional as he received a standing ovation from the Scottish crowd, with the world No 994 admitting post-round that he may have played his last major at St Andrews.

“I’m not retiring from the game,” Woods said. “But I don’t know if I will be physically able to play back here again when it comes back around. I’ll be able to play future Opens, yes, but eight years’ time, I doubt if I’ll be competitive at this level.”